private joker wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2026 11:55 am
It was a very poor u20 team. Being on a county team and not able to make your club team is a reflection on how poor the team was.
I know it was a weak u20 side.
But as a comparison, James Mahon, Ter Guinan, Leigh Kavanagh and Diggy Hand were all used exclusively with the Senior Bs in 2023 before then all being used in the Leinster club championship.
private joker wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2026 11:55 am
It was a very poor u20 team. Being on a county team and not able to make your club team is a reflection on how poor the team was.
I know it was a weak u20 side.
But as a comparison, James Mahon, Ter Guinan, Leigh Kavanagh and Diggy Hand were all used exclusively with the Senior Bs in 2023 before then all being used in the Leinster club championship.
Kk went all out to win both grades, (indeed to win all grades if I remember correctly l)that year and didn't use players unless absolutely necessary.
But brian and others will have a long and hopefully impactful career with both club and county.
In football, we've seen a trend whereby clubs in the west are beginning to struggle at senior level due to falling playing numbers while clubs to the east are on the rise due to increasing playing numbers.
Are we starting to see a similar trend in hurling, where clubs in the south are beginning to struggle while in recent years we see clubs with growing player numbers like KK, Ballinamere and Tullamore on the rise?
Anonymous1 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2026 11:02 pm
In football, we've seen a trend whereby clubs in the west are beginning to struggle at senior level due to falling playing numbers while clubs to the east are on the rise due to increasing playing numbers.
Are we starting to see a similar trend in hurling, where clubs in the south are beginning to struggle while in recent years we see clubs with growing player numbers like KK, Ballinamere and Tullamore on the rise?
Unquestionably clubs like Seir Kieran, Kinnitty, Coolderry, Lusmagh and Drumcullen are going to struggle for numbers if they aren’t already. All of those are involved in underage amalgamations while the clubs you mentioned above are able to field underage on their own. In K/K’s case they have 2 minor teams entered in this year’s championship.
And when numbers dwindle and you’re up against clubs with huge picks it suddenly becomes a simple mathematical equation.
Shinrone have heaped pressure on Belmont, who have very little behind them in terms of form going in to face Ballinamere.
Birr tipping along nicely.
Free shot at KK.
If they win, KK could be out.
If they lose, they are fine.
KK could do with stepping things up.
Birr could catch them with another performance like today.
Tullamore in for a nervy few weeks.
If it finishes with Tullamore, Belmont & Shinrone all on 4 points, does it come down to the scores in games between them?
Or overall score difference?
Hard to see any combination of results that would allow Coolderry qualify for quarters.
Could Kinnitty turn Coolderry over?
Jim Troy wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2026 6:34 pm
Big results this weekend
Shinrone have heaped pressure on Belmont, who have very little behind them in terms of form going in to face Ballinamere.
Birr tipping along nicely.
Free shot at KK.
If they win, KK could be out.
If they lose, they are fine.
KK could do with stepping things up.
Birr could catch them with another performance like today.
Tullamore in for a nervy few weeks.
If it finishes with Tullamore, Belmont & Shinrone all on 4 points, does it come down to the scores in games between them?
Or overall score difference?
Hard to see any combination of results that would allow Coolderry qualify for quarters.
Could Kinnitty turn Coolderry over?
Belmont have qualified for at least the QF. The winners of Belmont and Ballinamere will top the group.
Shinrone require a win against Lusmagh and Ballinamere to beat Belmont in order to qualify.
In that scenario Belmont, Shinrone and Tullamore would all be on 4 points and their order is determined by the scoring difference in the games between the three teams. That stands at Belmont +2, Shinrone 0 and Tullamore -2.
Coolderry can qualify if they beat Kinnitty and Birr beat KK. That's not impossible.
Sorry yes,
I didn’t know for sure re the head to head situation for Belmont, Shinrone & Tullamore.
Still, even if qualifying, Belmont going into a QF having lost two in a row wouldn’t be a good place to be in.
I understand Coolderry still have that chance of going through. But you get the feeling that KK won’t allow themselves go out tamely in the group stages.
Anyone any idea on Screeney’s likely return date?
It would be the most Offaly hurling thing ever for both Coolderry and Shinrone to scrape through in 3rd and both end up in the final.
It would! Or Birr beat K/K, Kinnitty get a last gasp goal to draw against coolderry and KK go on to win it, beating Ballinamere in the final, giving them there first defeat of the championship!
Tullamore are in a very tricky spot now, despite having hurled well and improved this year. It would be great for Tullamore to make use of their numbers and try compete in the future, but it seems their panel is still fairly limited in terms of the personnel on the bench.
Shinrone should beat Lusmagh, but you never know. Lusmagh have been competitive in every game which is great and shows how proud of a club they are. Belmont and Ballinamere you would imagine would be close, with both teams wanting a semi final spot.
Kinnitty have been very disappointing in the last two games. They are struggling big time to get scores. But still, given the recent events in Coolderry, could they surprise them?
